Over 20 years of writing about my club in Barnet matchday programmes, which sold to about 500 souls on a good day, now with this Blog Site everyone can read my ramblings, memories, interviews, experiences, features, guides to away grounds and pure love of everything Barnet Football Club. Enjoy and digest and tell your friends.
Reckless - Potters Bar March 2014.
Oh Yes, thank you to"Al" without whom.......that is all

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LEE HODGES

A
versatile player who formed exciting partnerships with both Dougie
Freedman and Sean Devine – not a bad entry on a CV!

Lee
Leslie Hodges was born in Epping Essex in September 1973 and joined
Tottenham Hotspur as a youth in 1992. he made 4 appearances in the
Premier League for Spurs. “In May 1993 I came on as a sub for John
Hendry against Arsenal at Highbury when Tottenham won 3-1 and played
alongside Teddy Sheringham, very exciting”.

Unfortunately
unable to sustain first team favour Lee spent time on loan at Wycombe
and Plymouth Argyle before Ray Clemence approached him for the Barnet
squad rebuild in the Summer of 1994. Clemence had secured the
formidable services of Dougie Freedman and Mark Cooper for his
assault on League Division 3, and Hodges would put the icing on the
top of the cake.

Lee
first pulled on a Barnet shirt for the opening fixture of the
Endsleigh 1994-95 season when the following line up lost at home to
Scunthorpe United 1-2 in front of 2,208, Mark Cooper with the goal:

However
it was in the very next game that the Underhill faithful knew that a
rather decent player had arrived. The same line-up thumped a very
decent Division 2 outfit in Leyton Orient four-nil. Freedman and
Cooper scored the goals but Hodges had an outstanding game that
evening alongside Carl Hoddle.

Hodges
struggled with a few niggling injuries during the season but Barnet
eventually finished a very creditable 11th in the table
and improved to 9th the following season notwithstanding
the loss of Freedman in September to Crystal Palace for £800,000.
This was due in no small way to the partnership of Lee and Sean
Devine as the deadly duo developed an almost telepathic relationship
and hit a serious purple patch in April and May for the run in.
Devine finished with 22 goals and Hodges with 17. From the terraces
it felt like a return to the halcyon days of Gary Bull and Mark
Carter five years earlier and that gloom of relegation in 1993 had
been lifted. This period featured Lee's most awesome feat in amber
and black when he scored all four goals in the win at Rochdale. He
was simply unstoppable on that sunny afternoon and in the next
fixture he grabbed a hatrick against Hartlepool at Underhill too. He
was voted Most Improved Player for that year by the Supporters
Association and would have won the covered Player of the Year award
if not for Maik Taylor who had an majestic season in goal for the
club.

Lee'
final game for the Bees was against Colchester United 3rd
May 1997 at Underhill. The following side lost 2-4 in front of
1,909, the Barnet goals from Hodges and Jamie Campbell.

Terry
Bullivant,who had managed Barnet during this season but had moved
onto Reading, was obviously a big Lee Hodges fan and made a fine
offer of £250,000 to new Bees manager John Still for Lee in August
1997. It was frankly too good to turn down and the fee certainly
helped finance Still's new signings of Ken Charlery and Greg Heald
for Barnet.

Lee
spent four injury hindered seasons at Reading, initially Elm Park and
then the Madjeski Stadium before a move to an old hunting ground
Plymouth Argyle in the Summer of 2001. Paul Sturrock 's free transfer
deal was great business as Lee went on to make close to 200
appearances in seven seasons at Home Park and become a firm favourite
with the Argyle fans in a deeper midfield role. A short spell at
Torquay United in the Conference, in including a successful Wembley
appearance in the play off final versus Cambridge United in 2009 was
followed in 2010 by Lee's first managerial post at Truro City. Lee
guided City to the Southern League Premier title in 2011.

Lee
was a superb technician and indeed one of the clubs Mr Reliables as
he didn't ever seem to have an off day. He was also another of the
players from Underhill's past that was easily approachable and an
extremely nice guy, he would always drop into and spend time in the
Durham Suite after games to allow supporters to discuss the
performance one to one – that could not be said of many believe me.
On his last visit to Underhill with Plymouth in 2007 before returning
home on the team coach he sought out a few faces in the bar just to
say “hello” shake hands, and let us see that broad grin – yeah
really nice guy!